Haunting way of handling e-waste
The photo shows how electronic wastes (e-wastes) are “processed” in a dump site on the outskirts of Accra, Ghana. Well “processed” is an overstatement - computers, televisions, cell phones and other electronic devices are actually just burned down melting away rubber coating of electrical wires and other non-metal parts to get at the metals within so they can be sold.
image: michaelciaglo.com
This is way off from my idea of recycling, burning the non-metal parts creates highly toxic fumes. This is not only harmful to the nearby environment and especially to the local people, the black smoke also generates a greenhouse gas that will contribute to the worsening global warming. This means that in the long run, it will affect the people and the environment on the rest of the world.
This e-waste processing creates highly toxic fumes that not only poison local people and the nearby environment, but also creates greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming affecting humans everywhere.
E-waste processing is important, just not this way.
Facts on e-waste
- 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste are disposed around the world each year. But,
- Only 12.5 percent of this e-waste are currently being recycled,
- For every million cell phones recycled;
- 35,274 pounds of copper,
- 772 pounds of silver,
- 75 pounds of gold, and
- 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.
source: EPA
